CITY TALK: Chive Sea Bar & Lounge now open on Savannah's Broughton Street

Bill Dawers @billdawers

Sunday

Jun 23, 2013 at 11:30 AM

Broughton Street was really quiet on Tuesday evening as two friends and I made our way to the new Chive Sea Bar & Lounge.

But all the tables at the comfortable, intimate restaurant were occupied. Rather than wait a few minutes, we settled in for dinner at the bar.

Chive occupies part of the space that was formerly home to Saigon, but the interior has been revamped beautifully.

The menu is versatile, flavorful and inventive. We had a tremendously satisfying meal.

We started with a nice cutting board of cheeses ($15) and a dozen chilled oysters ($30) that were pretty much perfect.

Contrary to the assumptions of many readers, this newspaper does not pay for my meals, so I'm definitely conscious of prices.

And Chive Sea Bar & Lounge is fairly expensive, although in the same range as many other downtown spots. The pricing will certainly limit the restaurant's clientele, but Chive's concept doesn't rely on heavy turnover of tables or barstools.

After those lovely appetizers, we moved on to our entrees: half a lobster over risotto ($16), a curry noodle dish with a mix of shellfish ($20) and an exquisite miso-marinated duck breast ($21).

We had some drinks too, so with tax and tip we ended up spending about $60 per person.

Chive's printed menu has suggested wine pairings for most dishes, but I suspect many patrons would prefer to read a little more about the food preparation and sourcing.

Chive is the latest venture of Sean and Ele Tran, whose other area restaurants include Tangerine, The King and I, Fire Street Food and Ele Fine Fusion.

Fire Street Food can also be found on King Street in Charleston.

As I have noted many times in this column through the years, Broughton Street has proven a tough spot for many restaurants.

But Chive's location seems like a pretty good one. The new spot will pick up some of the old Saigon regulars and lure visitors because of the proximity to Bull Street.

And restaurateurs with such a great track record will inevitably attract diners who frequent their other establishments.

Chive is open for lunch and dinner every day at 4 W. Broughton St. The restaurant stays open till 1:30 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.

2012 brought younger, more diverse visitors

Regular readers know how much we love data here at City Talk.

The recent release of a visitor volume and spending study by Longwoods International certainly provided many interesting data points about local tourism.

The study estimates that 5.4 million day-trippers visited Savannah in 2012. That's up from 5.3 million in 2011 and 5.1 million in 2010. The number of overnight visitors hit 7 million last year, up dramatically from 6.3 million in 2010.

But I thought the most interesting numbers were in the demographic breakdowns.

Between 2010 and 2012, the average age of day-trippers fell from 46 to 42, while the average age of overnighters fell from 45 to 43.

At the same time, the percentage of black visitors climbed from 12 percent in 2010 to 20 percent in 2012. Hispanics made up just 3 percent of visitors in 2010, but that number climbed to 8 percent in 2012.

It will be interesting to see whether this shift toward a younger and more diverse population of visitors continues.

In part, these numbers reflect the ongoing economic recovery and the growing diversity of the South and of the country as a whole.

Visit Savannah's marketing, especially the extensive and vibrant use of social media, has no doubt played a crucial role in attracting new audiences.

Among overnight visitors, 43 percent cited shopping as an activity in 2012, but look for that number to grow. The likely openings of Kate Spade, Anthropologie and Free People are potential game-changers in terms of the city's image.

And only 21 percent of overnight visitors cited food as a particular interest. Given the popularity of The Lady and Sons, Zunzi's, Mrs. Wilkes' and a plethora of other restaurants, I would have expected that number to be much higher.

So there's room for growth there too.

With considerably more hotel rooms being added along the riverfront, we also might be poised to attract more business travelers.

Viewed from a broader perspective, the report is yet more evidence of a relatively robust recovery in the Savannah area.

As I have noted before, we haven't yet seen all the gains reflected in our local jobs data, but employment is a lagging indicator of economic conditions. We'll be watching those numbers closely.

And it's always worth adding that we don't want tourism to crowd out other sectors of the downtown economy. Good public policy is crucial to making sure that doesn't happen.